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| Stop Monsanto! |
Genetically modified plants are grown from seeds that are engineered to resist insecticides and herbicides, add nutritional benefits or otherwise improve crop yields and increase the global food supply. Most corn, soybean and cotton crops grown in the United States today have been genetically modified. But some say genetically modified organisms can lead to serious health conditions and harm the environment.
Monsanto Co., based in St. Louis, has said that it respects people's rights to express their opinion on the topic, but maintains that its seeds improve agriculture by helping farmers produce more from their land while conserving resources such as water and energy.
However, state legislatures in Vermont and Connecticut have moved ahead with votes to make food companies declare genetically modified ingredients on their packages. And supermarket retailer Whole Foods Markets Inc. has said that all products in its North American stores that contain genetically modified ingredients will be labeled as such by 2018. Monsanto doesn't seem to think there is any problem.
If all these jurisdictions and companies are concerned, why aren't you?
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| Hungary burning nearly 1000 acres of Monsanto genetically modified maize |
Hungary deputy state secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development Lajos Bognar
announced that huge amounts of crops were being destroyed because they were found to be grown from genetically modified seeds ultimately derived from Monsanto. The farmers themselves complained to the government after not being told about the seeds, which are banned in Hungary. Since it is too late in the farm season to plant new crops, that harvest is lost forever. Who ultimately will bear the cost is unclear, as the company that imported and distributed the seeds is now bankrupt.
So many people around the world are taking this seriously.
